7 



Nature in Recreation 



tion shows a screen made of blue cellophane on which gold stars are pasted. 

 The trees and figures made of cardboard. In this play the child asks the stars 

 questions about themselves, and they come down out of the sky to answer 

 her. 



CONSTRUCTION 



Frame: It is easy to improvise a frame for shadow puppets by fastening 

 two blocks of wood three inches wide and six inches long to an old picture 

 frame as shown in the illustration. Almost any attic can produce an old 

 frame and the owner usually is glad to find a good use for it. If you cannot 

 find one, construct a frame from i" x 2" pine and nail the two blocks of 

 wood on to the bottom so it will stand alone. 



Screen: Muslin stretched taut and tacked around the edges of the back of 

 the frame makes an excellent screen. Part of a white window blind also 

 may be used to make the screen a little more transparent. If you want 

 scenery in colors, cut it from crepe paper and sew or paste it onto the back 

 of the screen. Use black paper on cardboard if you want the figures to be 

 opaque. 



Puppets: First select your characters and draw an outline of your smallest 

 puppet on a piece of paper. Then draw the others in proportion. Cut 

 around the edge of your drawing and use it as a pattern. Decide what parts 

 are to move, then cut those parts from the main puppet and cut another pat- 

 tern making it half an inch longer so it can be attached again by means of a 

 brass headed paper clip with the two prongs spread apart in the back. If 

 you want your puppets to be black, make them of heavy cardboard or 

 black construction paper. Colored ones can be done in two ways. If the 

 characters are cut out of thin white paper, colored with crayons and then 

 coated with clear varnish, they will be stiff enough to stand and keep their 

 shape. The other way is to cut the inside out of the cardboard characters 

 leaving only the outline, and cover with colored cellophane after pasting 

 it around the edges. 



To Manipulate: Cut sticks about one-fourth inch in diameter and twelve 



